Tina
Tina joined the Whistle Stop Crew in 2011. She was born and raised on the Oregon Coast and she and her family moved to Bend in 1990 to "dry out." ;o)
Hobbies & Past-times?
"I like to garden, crochet, camp and spend time with my family and friends!"
Favorite Garden Style?
"Cottage gardens are my favorite! I love lots of color and texture in a garden and just wish I had more time to spend in my garden!"
Favorite Plants?
"Peonies, roses, daisies, flowering vines - all the cottage garden type plants. I love Sun Gold tomatoes, peas and summer squash in my veggie garden!"
Carol
Carol joined our crew in 2015. She grew up in Las Vegas NV and met her husband in Yellowstone! She moved to Central Oregon 35 years ago for a horse job. Carol loves working outside everyday and spending time with the people she works with, and our customers - and of course the flowers are always a bonus as well!
Hobbies & Past-times?
"Horses, gardening, walking, cooking, worms and making things."
Favorite Garden Style?
"Chaos!! I'm a 'plunker.' My dream? Organized - no weeds!"
Favorite Plants?
"Iris, geraniums, rhubarb, lilies, dahlias, salvia, petunias, hops, hibiscus, phlox."
Darlene
Darlene has been with the Farm since 2015. She was born in Yakima WA but has lived in Central OR for about 50 years! She came to work at the farm in 2015 and is becoming our main watering expert, which is one of the most difficult jobs in a green-house environment! We're so glad she joined us and she enjoys the farm too, saying we're the best employers and crew around!
Hobbies & Past-times?
"Gardening, quilting, riding 4 wheelers."
Favorite Garden Style?
"Holly's yard!" ;o)
Favorite Plants?
"Roses, lemon cukes."
Amelia
Amelia is a true Whistle Stop native, having been born and raised at the farm! And even though she's attending nursing school, living and working in LaGrande, she's still an intricate part of our day to day farm operations!
Hobbies & Past-times?
"I like school, swimming, volleyball, and I also enjoy being with friends."
Favorite Garden style?
"Colorful, smelly and lots of delicious edible things!"
Favorite Plants?
"Cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, blueberries, smelly shrubs, lilies, hibiscus, colorful annuals... everything."
Dia
Dia moved to Bend in 2012 and started working with us here in 2014. She and has a beautiful garden on the north side of Aubrey Butte. She has been with us since 2014 and is part of our seed planting crew. The meticulous, careful work needs a steady hand, and Dia is great at it! She likes the crew at the farm, and our customers - and she loves to take home a little something for her garden almost every time she works! ;o)
Hobbies & Past-times?
"I am a gardener and a quilter."
Favorite Garden Style?
"I'm interested in ALL gardens."
Sherry
Sherry joined our team in 2016. She was born in Portland but grew up in Eastern Oregon. She moved here in 1978 to be able to more easily feed her hunger for skiing. She was a ski instructor for many years at Mt. Bachelor. She is often busy planting with music playing "in the back" but says she's "always ready to help our loyal customers as needed, or just say hi to visitors!"
Hobbies & Past-times?
Her passion is still skiing and enjoying the outdoors, like lake swimming in August (when there's less smoke). She also loves to paint and create art.
Favorite Garden Style?
Sherry likes container gardening, but her dream garden is English style, equally balanced with water features and art pieces throughout.
Favorite Plants?
Sherry likes to start the season with pansies, and then move into plants with cool colors like delphinium, iris, lavender, peonies, roses and SUNGOLD tomatoes!
Gabrielle
Gabrielle joined our team in 2018. She is one of the few folks who was actually born and raised here in Central Oregon and she loves it enough that she just never left.
Hobbies & Past-times?
"I enjoy entertaining, gardening, cooking and baking, avid wine consumer, art and crafts, sitting by (or in) our piece of the river with family & friends. But mostly my favorite past time is hanging out with my husband and 3 daughters!"
Favorite Garden Style?
"There is something whimsical about the European cottage gardens that I absolutely love."
Favorite Plants?
"I love my lilies, every time I see a lily I don't have, I buy it! I also can't forget my daisy's, they are a happy flower! My go to annuals are petunias, allysum, and phlox. I incorporate them into all my pots and planters. One of my favorite shrubs is the Rock Daphne, and I really enjoy the versatility of lavender and all you can use the flowers for."
Andrea
Andrea became a part of our crew in 2019. She moved from the Bay Area to Central Oregon for a slower pace of life.
Hobbies & Past times?
Hiking, gardening, reading and taking care of her pets.
Favorite Garden Style?
Andrea likes lots of color that will attract birds, bees and butterflies!
Favorite Plant?
Lavender is her absolute favorite!
Becky
Becky joined our team in 2022. Born and raised in Seattle, WA she fell in love with Tulips from the Skagit Valley. She moved to Bend in 2007 and has enjoyed this perfect place to raise a family. Her professional experience is all in accounting so she's excited to grow in her gardening knowledge.
Hobbies & Past-times?
Her family loves the outdoors so she enjoys all things Central Oregon; snowboarding, cross-country skiing, paddle boarding, backpacking, walking with friends, and mountain biking. She also enjoys working with her hands building things from recycled wood and materials. She built her own small greenhouse in 2020 from old doors and windows.
Favorite Garden Style?
Bright colorful flowers and productive vegetable gardens.
Favorite Plants?
Tulips, Peonies, Petunias, Kale, and Raspberries
Lisa
Lisa joined the team in 2022. She is truly part of the family (because she's Holly's SIL! ;o) She was raised in Bend and has worked in the healthcare industry for 16 years. She has a newborn baby boy and was wanting a part-time job for the time being.
Hobbies & Past-times?
"I enjoy reading, going to concerts with friends and family, and hanging out with my newborn son."
Favorite Garden Style?
" I love raised garden beds and flower baskets."
Favorite Plants?
"Food Plants! Strawberries, zucchini, basil, cilantro, as well as lavender.
Julie
Julie has been with us since 2022. She was raised in Portland and came to Bend in 1994. "I worked mostly in construction and restoration. I have been married for 24 years to my awesome husband. I love working outdoors and playing in the dirt."
Hobbies and past-times?
"I enjoy gardening and reading."
Favorite garden style?
Vegetables gardens!
Favorite Plants?
"I love all plants."
Tamara
Tamara joined our tea in 2022. She and her husband, Paul, moved from Eugene (aka "The Valley") to Bend in 2017.
Hobbies & Past-times?
Tamara enjoys gardening, skiing, working out, socializing, as well as traveling to exotic locations.
Favorite Garden Style?
"I like eclectic cottage, with colorful varieties of flowers, both perennials and annuals are my favorite gardening styles."
Favorite Plants?
"My favorite plants are deer resistant, maltese cross, brunnera, hanging baskets, anything with color that will grow here."
Dena
Dena became part of our team in 2023. She was born and raised in Kansas and moved to Oregon in 1990 where she met her husband. Central Oregon provided a great place to raise her family and explore.
Hobbies & Past-times?
“I like to garden, cook, camp, and bird watching. I enjoy my family and being a grandma.”
Favorite Garden Style?
“Xeriscaping is my favorite. I love the native high desert look: cactus, succulents, wildflowers, anything that is native. In my greenhouse I prefer raised beds for gardening - striving for self-sufficiency.”
Favorite Plants?
“All food plants, Lupine, Lavender, Pansy, Hen & Chickens and Cactus”
What do you like about working at The Whistle Stop?
“I love to help others find plants that will work best in their space. It brings me great joy to see others' excitement and smiles while picking out their perfect plants.”
Glenda
Glenda joined the crew in 2023. She spent most of her life in Northern WA, within "spitting distance" of Canada. However, few years ago, some life changes pushed her to move nearer to family here on the high desert.
Hobbies and past-times?
Flower gardening, crafting, and reading.
Favorite garden style
Lush greenery, continuously blooming flowers, lots of birds and bubbling water would all be in my perfect garden.
Favorite plants?
Daphne, Quince, multi-grafted apple tree, hellebore
April
April, who became part of our crew in 2024, is originally a New Jersey girl! She and her husband wanted and adventure after they got married and moved to Central Oregon.
Hobbies and past-times?
She loves reading and spending time with her family. She also enjoys being outside and playing with her two dogs.
Favorite garden style
April loves vegetable and flower gardens that she can wander through and sample as she walks.
Favorite plants?
She loves growing fruits and vegetables like bush beans, pumpkins, and melons. She also enjoys colorful perennials such as daisies and snap dragons - the brighter the better.
Jen
Jen joined our crew in 2024 and is a naive Oregonian, born in Silverton and then living in the Portland area for many years. She has always
loved the beauty of Central Oregon and spent many summers here growing up, so when an employment opportunity presented itself in 2014, she jumped on it and has never looked back.
Hobbies and past-times?
Jen is a quilter, crafter, hiker and gardener. She loves spending time with her family and friends and learning new and interesting things.
Favorite garden style
Jen says she's a sucker for a "dreamy cottage style garden" - lots of hummingbirds, bees and butterflies!
Favorite plants?
Jen is partial to lavender, bleeding hearts and double rose petunias.
She says she discovered the Rocky Mountain Bee plant last year – and that it was a magnet for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees…and even a hummingbird moth!
Ronni
Ronni has been with us since 2024. She is a Bend native, which is rare. But even more unique is that fact that so are both of her parents! When she met her husband, they moved to Portland for a few years, but missed the Central Oregon "bright skies" which brought them back home!
Hobbies and past-times?
Ronnie enjoys fishing when it's warm, and doing yard work with her family... and now her Whistle Stop friends. ;o) She loves to do fun activities with her grown children 0 cooking outside, singing songs by a campfire, dancing and just having a great time!
Dream garden?
A garden full of fragrant flowers, herbs and vegetables with a little trail to lead you through the yard. She'd love to harvest all of her summer meals out of her own backyard.
Favorite plants?
In her current home she prefers wildflowers because she's found that they provide color without the tears of waking up to find that the deer and rabbits have eaten all of her flowers.
What do you like about working at The Whistle Stop?
Being with happy people, walking around a beautiful garden and learning about plants.
Sara
Sarah grew up in Ohio and moved to the west coast in her early 20's looking for something different. She joined our team in 2024.
Hobbies and past-times?
She loves to walk and hike, garden & travel - especially to see her daughters. She has two Nigerian goats, 18 chickens, an Irish setter and a parakeet that keep her busy as well.
Favorite plants?
Sarah likes bee-balm, Agastache and lungwort.
Curt
Curt is new to the farm this year! He was born and raised in San Fernando, CA (part of L.A.). He and his wife have lived in a number of interesting places including San Jose & Pasadena CA, Tokyo Japan, Puyallup & Federal Way WA, and Carson Valley near Carson City, NV. They moved to Redmond in October of 2021 to be closer to family who live in Bend.
Hobbies and past times?
Curt enjoys fishing, nature/wildlife photography, hiking, camping and sitting/walking on the beach.
Favorite garden style?
Curt appreciates the chaotic orderliness of the cottage garden style, which he says reflects life in general.
Favorite Plants?
He says he likes anything that flowers; annuals, perennials, shrubs. He also likes the challenge of learning the names of his favorite flowers all over again each Spring!
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is an Oregon native, and has lived in Bend her entire life. She spent many hours of her childhood here at the farm because her mom (Tina) has worked here since Brooklyn was 2! She has done jobs for the farm since she was very young, but she officially joined the crew in 2025!
Hobbies and past times?
Like most teens, she enjoys time with her friends, but she also likes just being at home.
Dream garden?
Brooklyn hopes to one day have a big garden filled with a huge variety of plants and vines.
Linda
Linda, who joined the crew in 2025, moved to Central Oregon from Lincoln City in 2009. She was starting over and said that CO seemed like the right place for a fresh start!
Hobbies and past times?
Linda enjoys gardening, making pine needle baskets, and creating jewelry. She adds that she likes anything crafty!
Dream garden?
Give her a country garden any day!!
Favorite Plants?
Linda loves flowers in general, but some of her favorites are petunias, sunflowers & zinnias, and she likes all kinds of herbs!